Don't Leave
by Bioshockandawe
Summary: Belle finally gets her memories back, but in a way she never suspected. Red Beauty
1. Chapter 1

First I'd like to say that all mistakes made here are entirely my own, and I apologize profusely for them. This story will be three chapters, each longer than the last. It will be a Red Beauty fic that I have written for my friend Christine who asked ever so kindly, and with that enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, nor am I affiliated with the show, and am gaining no profit from creating this story.

* * *

Belle was tired, dead tired, and if she was being truthful she was also a bit tipsy. She was not having a good day in the least, or a good week to be more exact. Ever since she had gotten her memories back Rumple hadn't left her side, or let her leave his side, the man she had once found to be the love of her life was becoming nothing more than a thorn in her side that she could not get rid of no matter how hard she tried.

As she sat on the stool by the counter at Granny`s, sipping on one of those delicious iced teas, she couldn't help but think back to this mornings events, that had left her feeling the need to fill her evening with a drink that left her feeling particularly numb.

* * *

_Earlier that day_

_"Rumpel please," Belle began once again, "I just want to go back to the library to make sure all is still in order."_

_She had been cooped up inside of Rumple's pawn shop for an entire week and it was beginning to take its toll on her._

_"Belle, sweetheart, I still haven't found that damned pirate and I will not have you gallivanting around this town unprotected, only for him to catch you while you are alone." Rumpelstiltskin explained to her once again._

_Belle was having none of it anymore, she wanted to feel free for once in her life, not to feel like someone else was controlling all of her actions, to not feel like a prisoner once again._

_"I'm going Rumpel, it's my life to live," she argued, "I will not be cooped up like a bird in this place anymore."_

_"Belle!" Rumepl started._

_Belle continued on, not turning back to look at the man. "I'm going, and that's the end of that, and I do not wish to have you shadow me as I know you wish to."_

* * *

As happy as Belle was that Rumpel has respected her need for privacy, she couldn't help but feel even more alone than she had before.

She looked across the room, eyes passing over all the other customers inside of the diner, waiting to be served diner, and as always her eyes landed on the one woman she had been trying to ignore for the better part of a week, Ruby.

Belle sighed, she felt so very conflicted, as much as she liked to believe that she was still in love with Rumpelstiltskin, her heart has started to yearn for the woman who had become one of her closest friends, and unbeknownst to anyone but the two women themselves, the person who had managed to get her her memories restored.

She could feel Ruby's eyes on her, but she dared not turn to meet the other girls gaze. Belle fished a few bills from her purse, dropped them onto the counter in front of her and took her much needed leave from the diner.

As soon as she had taken a step outside into the cool brisk air, she noticed two things, for one it was much later than she first assumed she realized as she looked up into the darkening night sky, and also that she may have had one too many of those tempting drinks as she stumbled her way towards the library.

Belle had no intention of returning to Rumpel this evening, or tomorrow for that instance.

It had taken her the better part of twenty minutes to travel the short distance between the diner and the library, trying to keep her balance the entire walk had set her back quite a bit. When she had finally reached the library doors is when she realized she had forgotten her purse, which housed her keys, back at the diner.

She sighed, she was not having any luck these past few months, and just once she wished she could have at least one thing go her reached out to grab the doors handles, praying to any god that would listen, that she wouldn't have to make her way back to Rumpel's home.

"Thank you." She whispered into the night as soon as she felt the door give no resistance to her pulling and granting her entrance inside. Instead of reaching for a light switch, Belle locked the doors behind her and stumbled her way through the library towards the stairs that led to the small loft that lay on the second floor of the building on top of her beloved library.

She all but dragged her body into her room, threw herself into her bed, rolled herself into the blankets until they cocooned around her, granting her a sense of protection, and prayed that sleep would come easily to her this night, that she would not be forced to toss and turn all throughout the night.

Unfortunately her luck had run out at the library doors, so she lay there tossing and turning, while staring at the roof above her she began to listen to the quiet sounds of life outside her bedroom window. She thought of the man she willed her heart to love once again, pleaded with herself to remember why she had fallen in love with the man in the first place, but every thought soon took form of the beautiful child of the moon who worked as a waitress, the girl she had wished she had met decades ago, back before she had met Rumpelstiltskin.

Her heart constricted painfully as her mind raced with memories she wished she could put an end to. With tears steadily flowing down her face, Belle finally fell into a restless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**And I'm back for the second chapter, I hope you enjoy this more than I enjoyed writing it, because damn it was rough.**

**Also, this chapter will be from Ruby's POV opposed to Belle's again. I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, nor am I affiliated with the show, and am gaining no profit from creating this story.**

* * *

It had been a week, a devastatingly long week filled with nothing but heartache and pain. Ruby felt as though she was slowly suffocating, and as time passed by it just seemed to get worse for her.

"Ruby!" her grandmother yelled from her spot behind the register at the counter, "move your tail girl, these people aren't gonna start serving themselves."

"Alright Granny."

Ruby was in no mood to playfully bicker with the older woman, and if Granny noticed she made no mention of it.

Moving around the diner basically on auto-pilot, she took down orders and served her customers, after almost three decades of the same constant action Ruby would wager that she could do this job in her sleep.

As her pen flew across her paper pad she suddenly froze, she felt her wolf begin to rattle around her body trying to escape its confines, she felt more than heard the creature begin to whimper and howl in her mind. She knew exactly what was about to happen, or to be more exact, who was about to step into the diner.

"Belle." she quietly murmured to herself.

As the bell above the door rang announcing the arrival of another customer, and she knew she was right to assume who it was, she was there, the one person who could root her to her spot with her mere presence alone. Before Belle could even get both feet through the door, Ruby was completely out of sight.

Short laboured breaths escaped her lips as she attempted to calm her racing. Ruby stood stalk still as she pressed her back flush against the wall in the large walk in freezer in the back of the diner. She had hoped the freezing temperatures would help cool her already warming body and ease the tension forming in her body, but they only served to make it worse.

Belle, the woman she was both elated and frightened to see, the woman who had been avoiding her for an entire week, had finally made an appearance. Was this a good or bad thing, she couldn't figure it out, and it annoyed her to no end.

Her mind was being assaulted by memories she wished she could somehow alter.

* * *

_One week ago_

_Belle had finally been released from the hospital, and Ruby couldn't be anymore thrilled. She may not be the same woman she had fallen completely head over heels in love with, but she was still Belle, and she would learn to love this version of her just the same._

_Rumpelstiltskin had been none to pleased when Ruby had shown up at his shop stating that she would be escorting Belle around Storybrooke to get her familiarized with the town once again._

_"I'm sorry dearie, but there is not a chance that I will allow Belle to leave my side while that one handed bastard is all but running around free to do as he pleases." Rumple all but bellowed at her._

_As she suspected, getting Rumpelstiltskin to agree to let her show Belle around town would be no easy task, but she was determined._

_"Ah, but who better to guard Belle then her very own guard wolf." she said casually while grinning from ear to ear._

_The absolute rage she saw pass through Rumple's eyes was almost enough to have her high tail it back to Granny's, but she stood her ground. She saw his knuckles strain beneath his skin as he gripped his cane._

_"Listen closely you mongrel, if you thi-" His speech died on his tongue as they both heard someone clear their throats from inside of the shop._

_Ruby and Rumple both turned to see Belle standing there in the middle of the shop, albeit a little awkwardly._

_"As confusing as this little debacle between you two seems to be, I would love for Ruby to show me around the town actually."_

_Ruby had never heard anything quite as sweet as Belle going against Rumpelstiltskin's wishes. She was ecstatic, and the shocked face on the Dark One's face only helped to heighten her mood. Ruby extended her hand to Belle, eagerly awaiting her to accept it, which she had done so graciously._

* * *

_Ruby and Belle wandered around the quiet town slowly, with Ruby pointing out every building for Belle and explaining all the details behind them. They had made their way from the docks to the forest's boundaries, with a quick lunch break at Granny's in between._

_"This has been wonderful Ruby. I'm so very glad that we could do this, you wouldn't believe how dull staying at a hospital could be. You've made this day perfect thank you." Belle had announced happily. She hadn't felt so free in what felt like ages._

_Ruby's heart warmed at what Belle had said, and looking down at the smiling woman it just seemed to grow warmer. "Good thing there's still one more stop on our fun filled day!" Ruby exclaimed happily to Belle._

_As they began to make there way towards their next destination, Ruby noticed how Belle could hardly contain her excitement and it just made this plan all the better. Within the next ten minutes they had managed to make it to the town's one and only library._

_"A library?" she heard Belle ask from her side. "Not just any library Belle, your library to be exact." Ruby explained to the shorter girl._

_The way she saw Belle's eyes grow to the size of saucers, she knew she was right in her decision to leave this place for their final destination._

_Making their way into the library Ruby watched as Belle stood in the room, taking in the sight before her. _

_"Mine." she heard Belle mutter repeatedly as the began to move their way in between the cases filled to the brim with books of every genre. Distracted Ruby did not see Belle stop walking, and ended up bumping right into her back._

_"Belle?" Ruby asked, concern lacing her voice, "Is everything alright?"_

_As soon as the words had left her mouth she felt Belle turn and launch herself into her arms, wrapping her own arms around her neck. On instinct Ruby placed her hands on Belle's hips to assure they both wouldn't topple to the ground. After Ruby was sure they were stable, she moved her hands up to place one hand on either side of Belle's face and made it so they were looking eye to eye. When they made eye contact Ruby could see the tears brimming Belle's eyes, threatening to fall, which confused her, had she done something wrong?_

_"Is there something wrong Belle?" Ruby spluttered out, and seeing Belle shake her head as soon as she had heard her question._

_"Everything is perfect Ruby, absolutely perfect." Ruby opened her mouth to point out her confusion, but Belle lifted her hand cutting her off instantly. "I'm sorry, I just don't know whats come over me, I'm just so very happy."_

_Ruby's gaze softened, and a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding was released. She stared down into Belle's eyes, feeling herself getting transfixed and lost in the beautiful blue orbs. With her hands still resting on Belle's cheeks, and still feeling the shorter girls arms wrapped securely around her neck, she slowly stepped closer to Belle, ensuring their bodies were flush against one another._

_Ruby's eyes dipped down in time to see a soft pink tongue dart out to moisten pale pink lips, which she noticed had gotten closer to her own, now only an inch away from her own. She felt Belle's own breath brush over her lips, a sweet smell washing over her, and soon felt soft plump lips graze her own lips. With a new found strength Ruby crushed their lips together, she moved her hands onto Belle's hips pushing her backwards until her back hit the book cases behind her._

_Heaven. It was the one word Ruby could use to describe the current situation she had found herself in. As soon as it had begun, it was over, with Belle placing her hands on Ruby's shoulders and pushing her away. Ruby looked up at Belle through hooded eyes, confused on what had just caused her to be pushed away. _

_"Ruby." There was something about the way Belle had just said her name, as though she had said it a thousand times before, like she was meant to say her name. "I remember. Everything, I remember." Why had Belle sounded so panicked, was this not something to celebrate? This was what everyone had wanted. Yet as soon as the words had left the other girls lips, Ruby soon found herself watching Belle leave the library in a rush. _

_Ruby was left standing there, alone, crushed, and completely confused._

* * *

Still leaning against a wall, Ruby was pulled from her memories when she had heard her Granny bellowing her name. Taking a large gulp of air, Ruby turned around and made her way back into the diner, apologizing to her grandmother, and attempting to get back into the working rhythm.

It couldn't have been more than ten minutes before she felt a familiar pair of eyes boring into the back of her head, but as she turned around to confirm her suspicions, she saw Belle turn away to face forward. Ruby continued to watch the other girl until she saw her set a few bills on the counter in front of her and make a beeline for the exit.

A sigh escaped Ruby's lips, disappointed she attempted to finish the rest of her shift without completely breaking down in front of all the people in the diner. She put on a smile and made her way to another customer.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. After this there will be one more chapter, and that should be up in a day or two. **


	3. Chapter 3

**So apparently when I uploaded this chapter a few days ago it didn't actually publish, so I apologize for the wait. This is going to be the final chapter, and it's going to go between Belle and Ruby's POV, so I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, nor am I affiliated with the show, and am gaining no profit from creating this story**

* * *

It was almost one in the morning and Belle still had't been able to fall asleep, without being pulled into a dream where all she could remember were her hands tangling themselves in flowing brown hair and the most sinfully delicious pair of lips caressing her own.

She was a mess, she stepped out of her bed and made her way to the window on the far end of her room. Gently she opened the window, placed her arms crossed on the ledge and rested her head upon them.

Belle sighed, the cool night air soothing her flushed cheeks, and helping to clear her mind. She looked out over the town, appreciating the calm that came along with Storybrooke's nights.

The sound of floor boards creaking took her out of her trance, and suddenly the calm was quickly replaced with a sense of panic. She quietly made her was towards her front door, a foot away from her destination, she heard a feather soft knock coming from the other side of the door.

Standing on the tips of her toes to be able to see through the peephole, as soon as she laid eyes on the person on the other side she gasped, and all but threw the door wide open.

* * *

The diner was taking Ruby longer to close up than usual, it was close to one in the morning before she was close to being done, and now all she wanted to do was get home and crawl into her own bed.

As she was about to put the last few stools up onto the counter is when she stumbled onto someone's purse, more specifically Belle's purse. Ruby groaned, she knew she couldn't just leave it there until the morning, but she sure as hell wouldn't be paying a visit to the Dark One's humble abode at this time of night.

Ruby made her way out of the diner and locked up, while doing this she came up with the perfect solution to her little predicament. She would sneak into the library and leave it there for Belle to find. Proud of herself for coming up with this plan, grinning she made her way down the street towards the town's library.

Night had always been Ruby's favourite time of the day, the streets were empty, the quiet was peaceful, and the cool air always helped to calm her nerves and clear her mind.

The closer she came to the library, the more restless Ruby noticed her wolf became. It wanted nothing more than to howl into the night sky, to try to call out to the inner wolf it so desperately wished resided in Belle. It broke her heart even more to realize that her love for Belle carried on into her wolf, it was yet another problem she had to carry with her during wolf's time.

When she had finally made it to the front entrance to the library, she was relieved to be able to focus on something other than her ever growing heartache. Realizing the library's door would be locked, Ruby rummaged through the small purse she held hoping to find a key that would allow her to get into the building without having to break in. When she finally found the keys, she made her way into the library the sound of footsteps caught her attention as she walked towards the front desk.

Belle couldn't possibly be staying here, could she. Shouldn't be in the arms of her beloved Rumpelstiltskin, Ruby thought bitterly. To make sure there was no one lurking around who shouldn't be Ruby slowly made her way up towards the loft.

When she made it to the door she knew she was wrong, the sweet smell that invaded her senses slowed Ruby in her tracks, she would know that scent anywhere. Well she had already made it this far, she may as well give back Belle's purse personally.

Ruby stood there with her knuckles gently resting on the wood of the door before she gained a bit of nerve and lightly tapped the door in front of her. She heard shuffling behind the door, a quiet gasp echoed into Ruby's ears, and as soon as the need to flee filled her, the door swung open revealing the one woman who she would do absolutely anything for.

* * *

"Belle."

She gasped, she had forgotten how beautiful her name always sounded coming out of Ruby's mouth.

"Ruby," Belle all but stuttered out, "What can I do for you?"

She stood there, transfixed at the sight of Ruby so tensely standing at her door, wearing skin tight red leather pants, a white button up shirt, and her hair flowing down her shoulders and back. As she was looking Ruby up and down she noticed her own purse clutched tightly i her hands.

"Oh!" Belle exclaimed loudly, breaking both of them from their trance, "you've found my purse, but it's very late Ruby, why come now?"

She was Ruby flinch, and shift her eyes back and forth, as though she were trying to find a quick escape route.

"Well you see, actually-"

"Ruby, are you alright? Is there something wrong?"

Ruby sighed, "I was actually hoping to drop the purse off here to avoid going over to Rumpelstiltskin's and having to face you in person."

"Oh."

Belle could't help hide the disappointment in her voice. She had missed her friend desperately, and all these feelings she'd been having had not helped her miss Ruby any less.

"Belle, please don't look so sad, it's not like I don't want to see you, hell not seeing you has been killing me. I'm sorry, I'll just go."

As she watched Ruby turn and begin to leave, she felt her heart drop. Belle couldn't lose her again, she needed Ruby in her life more than she would've thought. All Belle could hear was white noise as she stood there, the only thing she could think about was trying to stop Ruby from leaving her.

"Ruby, wait, please wait!" she shouted after the retreating woman's form, "I'm the one who's sorry, so very sorry." She wrapped her arms around from behind Ruby and locked her hands at her midsection, to stall her movements. "I shouldn't have run from you, it was a horrible thing to do. Please forgive me Ruby. Please."

They stood there, with Belle hugging Ruby from behind, and the other woman frozen in place.

Belle was on the verge of tears before she felt the body in front of her turn around and latch onto her just as tightly. She felt Ruby place a kiss on the crown of her head and she sighed in content.

"I could never stay mad at you Belle."

Belle felt her heart constrain, she could hear the tears and sorrow laced in Ruby's voice, and she wished she could take back the entire week she had spent trying to avoid Ruby and spare them both the heartache.

"Stay with my tonight Ruby," Belle all but begged, "Please I don't want to be without you for another minute."

"As long as you want me Belle, I'll stay."

"Always."

"Always it is then."

Belle tilted her head upwards and captured Ruby's lips with her own, and began to walk them backwards into her home, with Ruby kicking the door closed behind their retreating forms.


End file.
